Michelle Murphy, an
innkeeper in New Church, where launches are visible across a bay about
16 miles away, saw the explosion. "It was scary. Everything rattled,"
she said. "There were two explosions. The first one we were ready for.
The second one we weren't. It shook the inn, like an earthquake. It was
extremely intense."

The owners of the
Antares rocket warned residents not to touch any debris they might
stumble across from the craft, which was carrying hazardous materials.